Vehicle-top attachment.



No. 672,023. Patented Apr. I6, 190i. G. G. TIERNEY.

VEHICLE TOP ATTACHMENT.

(Application filed Mar. 5, 1901.)

(No Model.)

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'NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE G. TIERNEY, OF NEW HAMPTON, IOWA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO BARNEYO. TIERNEY, OF SAME PLACE.

VEHICLE-TOP ATTACHM ENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 672,023, dated April16, 1901.

Application filed March 5, 1901. Serial No. 49,872. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE G. TIERNEY, a citizen of the United States,residing at New Hampton, in the county of Chickasaw and State of Iowa,have invented a new and useful Vehicle-Top Attachment, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to foldable vehicletops, and has for one objectto provide improved means for supporting the top in its normal or set-upposition and arranged for convenient manipulation to fold the topwhenever desired. It. is furthermore designed to provide the supportingmeans in the nature of an attachment, so that it may be convenientlyattached to any ordinary buggy or other vehicle top without altering thesaid top or the body of the vehicle.

With these and other objects in view the 1 present invention consists inthecombination and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter morefully described, shown in the accompanyin g drawings, and particularlypointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that changes inthe form, proportion, size, and minor details may be made within thescope of the claims without departing from the spirit or sacrificing anyof the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a foldable top and avehicle-body having the present invention applied thereto, a portion ofthe side of the vehicle being broken away to show the means whereby thedevice is manipulated to lock and unlock thefoldable top. Fig. 2 is arear elevation thereof. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail sectional viewtaken through the interlocking connection between the attachment and thevehicle-top.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail front elevationthereof. Fig. 5 is a detailtransverse sectional view taken through the locking-wedge. Fig. 6 is adetail side elevation showing the device in the folded position of thetop.

Like characters of reference designate corresponding parts in all of thefigures of the drawings.

In order that the invention may be fully understood, I have illustratedin the drawings the body of a buggy 1, having an ordinary foldable top2, which is hingedly conment of the sleeve.

nected to the forward portions of the opposite ends of the seat in anycommon or ordinary manner.

It will be understood that duplicate devices are provided at oppositesides of the vehicle for supporting the respective sides of the top,

both devices being operated from a single rock-shaft mounted upon theback of the buggy-seat, and therefore a description of one of thedevices is deemed sufficient.

In carrying out the present invention there is provided anattaching-bracket 3, which is secured to the back portion of one .end ofthe vehicle-seat and having an outwardly-directed projection or arm 4,which is of polygonal shape. Upon the outer end of the arm there isprovided a bracket comprising a sleeve 5, having a polygonal interior tofit the arm, the latter being reduced to form an intermediate shoulder,against which the inner end of the sleeve bears, there being a nut orother suitable fastening device applied to the'outer end of the arm toprevent displace- From the opposite ends of the sleeve rise the sidepieces 6, which are parallel and incline forwardly, the intermediateportions thereof being laterally enlarged or provided with correspondingrearwardly-directed ears or wings 7. In the inner faces of these sidepieces and extending trans versely across the wings are thecorresponding grooves 8, which are designed for the slidable receptionof the wedge 9, which moves inwardly and outwardly through the corresponding rear ends of the grooves. Located above the grooves and betweenthe side pieces is an open-ended socket or sleeve 10, which is pivotedmidway of its ends upon the side pieces by means of the pivot-pins orjournals 11, so as to swing in a vertical plane across the top of thewedge.

Between the bracket and the foldable top there extends a connecting-rod12, which has its upper end pivotally connected to that top bow which ishingedupon the seat, as indicated at 13, the adjacent pivotal connectionbetween the top of the bow and the adjacent link between the bows alsoserving for the connection between the connecting-rod and the top. Thelower end of the rod is mounted to slide longitudinally through thesocket and is provided with a terminal head 14 for engagement with thelower end of the socket, thereby to limit the upward movement of the rodand prevent the top from being swung too far forward.

7 Normally the wedge 9 lies across and in engagement with the lowerheaded end of the connecting-rod or top-prop 12, which takes the placeof the usual jointed prop, and thus the prop, is locked and the top isheld in its normal set-up or raised position. To unlock the prop it ismerely necessary to withdraw the wedge from beneath the lower end of theprop when the top may be folded backwardly in the ordinary manner, theprop-rod sliding downwardly through the socket and the latter turningrearwardly as the top is folded in the same direction until it assumesthe position shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings.

For convenience in manipulating the locking-wedge a transverse rockshaft or rod is mounted upon the outer side of the back of the seat,with its respective ends projected at the opposite sides of the seat, soas to lie in rear of the respective brackets at the opposite sides ofthe foldable top. A suitable crank-arm 16 is fixedly carried by each endof the rock-shaft and is pivotally connected to the under side of theadjacent wedge or locking-slide, as indicated at 17, so that by rockingthe shaft the wedges may be simultaneously slid inwardly and outwardlyacross the lower ends of the respective top-props for the purpose oflocking and unlocking the same.

In order that the rock-shaft may be conveniently rocked, there isprovided a footlever 18, which is located within the body of the vehicleand beneath the seat thereof, the rear end of the lever being fulcrumedupon a suitable bearing-bracket 19, secured to the bottom of the vehicleand in rear of the seat, the forward end of the lever being projectedslightly in front of the seat, so as to be in convenient reach of thefoot of the driver or person occupying the seat. A suitable spring 20 isinterposed between the under side of the lever and the bottom of thevehicle to normally and yieldingly elevate the front free end of thelever, and a connecting rod or link 21 has its lower end pivotallyconnected to an intermediate portion of the lever, from which it risesand is pivotally connected to a lateral projection or crank-arm 22,carried by the middle portion of the rock-shaft. By this arrangement thespring normally holds the wedges at their forward limits through theseveral intermediate connections, and said wedges may be convenientlywithdrawn from their locked engagement with the props by pressingdownwardly upon the free end of the lever, thereby rocking therock-shaft rearwardly and pulling the wedges outwardly from the propsthrough the connections afforded by the respective terminal crankarms16.

From the foregoing description it is apparent that the present devicemay be applied to any ordinary buggy-top without altering or changingthe same or the body of the buggy beyond substituting the present propsfor the usual jointed props. Moreover, the top is securely held in itsupright position and is effectually prevented from being collapsed bythe jolting of the buggy. As will be understood by reference to Fig. 6of the drawings, the lower end of the prop will strike against theforward end of the adjacent lockingwedge when the top is being raised,thereby automatically forcing the wedge rearwardly to permit of the proprising through the socket into its normal position, whereby it is notnecessary to press downwardly upon the foot-lever when it desired toraise the top.

Wht is claimed is.

1. A foldable vehicle-top attachment, comprising a bracket forconnection with a vehicle-body, a vertically-swinging open-ended socketpivotally mounted upon the bracket, a top-prop received slidably throughthe socket, a locking device mounted upon the bracket and slidableacross the lower open end of the socket, and means for moving thelocking device in opposite directions.

2. A foldable vehicle-top attachment, comprising a bracket forconnection with a vehicle-body, and having opposite side pieces, whichare provided in their inner faces with corresponding transverse grooves,an openended socket pivoted intermediate of its ends between the sidepieces and above the grooves, a top prop slidably received through thesocket, a locking device slidably mounted in the corresponding groovesand arranged for engagement with the lower end of the prop in itsextended position, and means for moving the locking device in oppositedirections.

3. In a device of the character described, the combination of a bracket,a verticallyswinging open-ended socket mounted thereon, a locking-slidecarried by the bracket and moving across the lower end of the socket, atop-prop slidably received through the socket, a rock-shaft, having acrank-arm pivotally connected to the locking device, and aspringactuated lever operatively connected to the rock-shaft. v

4;. The combination with a vehicle-body, a seat thereon, and a foldabletop, of brackets provided at opposite ends of the seat, and havingoutwardly-directed projections, a bracket supported upon eachprojection, and comprising opposite upstanding side pieces provided intheir inner faces with corresponding grooves, an open-ended socketpivoted intermediate of its ends between the upper ends of the sidepieces and above the grooves, a top-prop having its upper end pivotallyconnected to the adjacent side of the top and also slidably receivedthrough the socket, the lower end of the prop being provided with anenlarged head, a wedge-shaped slide mounted in the grooves and normallyin engagethe rook-shaft, and a connection between the 10 ment with theouter end of the head, a rocklever and the intermediate crank-arm. shaftmounted across the back of the seat, In testimony that I claim theforegoing as and provided with terminal crank-arms pivmy own I havehereto affixed my signature in 5 otally connected to the respectiveslides, a the presence of two witnesses.

foot-lever having one end fulcrumed upon GEORGE G. TIERNEY. the bottomof the vehicle-body, a spring to Witnesses:

normally yieldably elevate the free end of the M. F. OONDON,

lever, an intermediate crank-arm carried by B. O. TIERNEY.

